[[quoteright:229:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buddha.jpg]][[caption-width-right:222: [[NoSwastikas It's not what you think.]]]]

Labelled variously as a religion, philosophy, or a "way of life," Buddhism is probably one of the world's more confusing religions. A few things to note first:

* No forms of Buddhism explicitly teach the existence of a ''creator'' god. Nevertheless, some schools have practices that call on higher powers, sometimes including the Buddha. While these devotions have been called "prayer-like," they are for all intents and purposes indistinguishable from prayer. Others reject the existence of all godlike beings. Others believe that gods (and demons) are simply other forms of life and no better than humans. In fact, because the gods are trapped in the cycle of rebirth just as we are, the Buddha is actually superior to them, and called "teacher of the gods." In all cases, however, whether one believes in gods or not, or whether one worships them or not, they are considered irrelevant to the actual point of Buddhism -- the attainment of Enlightenment, which even gods must strive for. Similarly, some schools of Buddhism (like the Buddhist Churches of America association) reject more superstitious/mythological aspects of Buddhism.* Siddhartha Gautama was the first declared-by-that-name Buddha (perfectly enlightened one) but there have been many others before him, and many beings of various stages of enlightenment since.* Buddhism is not necessarily a form of UsefulNotes/{{Atheism}}. Some variations are perfectly compatible with atheism, but not all (as noted above). Buddhism is, more or less, an offshoot of UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, so the oldest school(s) pretty much teach the existence of the same gods. Even most schools that lack "gods" still retain supernatural elements. Those that dispense with the supernatural entirely tend to be found mostly in the West.* There is no concept of a "soul" in Buddhism, at least not as most people define it. There's a lot of theory behind it, but basically Buddhism doesn't allow for the existence of such an independent object. While nirvana (see below) is not ''technically'' CessationOfExistence, this is more because, in Buddhism, there never was a "you" to begin with. It can get rather complicated.* Every sentient being has the potential to achieve nirvana (a state of permanent peace, liberation, and "consciousness without feature, without end" beyond suffering and desire,) if not in this life, then another.

'''Life of the Buddha'''

The story of Buddhism begins with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in modern-day UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} around the year 500BCE. As was the fashion of the time, his father, King of Shakya, took his newborn son to an oracle to have his future read. The oracle told the King that the child would grow up to either be a great king if he experienced no suffering, or a great spiritual teacher if he did. King Suddhodana preferred that his son follow in his own footsteps, and so young Siddhartha was raised [[{{Gilded Cage}} with every desire fulfilled but without being allowed to leave his father's palace]].

Fast forward 29 years. Siddhartha is now married and is in the prime of his life. But he wonders how he can be an effective king if he has never even left the palace to see his kingdom. So his father relents and allows Siddhartha a single day outside the palace. But King Suddhodana secretly sends his ministers to pre-arrange every sight that Siddhartha will see, removing from public view all of the beggars, lepers, and dying subjects.

As Siddhartha walks the street greeted by his subjects, though, he catches sight of an old man. Having been sequestered in a false, perfect world up until this point, he is forced to ask his chariot-driver what is wrong with the elderly individual. He is told that it is an old man, and all men will someday grow old like him. Siddhartha is shocked, and continues looking into the crowd in earnest, whereupon he sees a leper. Again, he is shocked by the unhappiness that is visited upon humanity, and embarrassed by his naiveté. The third sight that he sees is a decaying corpse, and is told by his driver that it is the fate of all human beings to die. At last, he comes upon the fourth sight -- a Hindu ascetic monk. Siddhartha abandons everything to follow this monk, who he hopes will lead him out of the cycle of misery that afflicts all humankind, leaving behind his kingdom and a father who is probably somewhat ticked off at the BrokenMasquerade.

The Hindu ascetics were extremely severe, and they ate and drank so little that some of them would even die of starvation. Siddhartha himself almost died of hunger and misery while pursuing the ascetic lifestyle, but a peasant girl brought him a bowl of rice to eat and he accepted her generosity. His five ascetic companions were scandalized. Fed up, Siddhartha planted himself under a Bodhi tree and refused to budge until he received enlightenment.

For 49 days, Siddhartha struggled with his ignorance under the tree. Tempted by the demon Mara, assaulted by flies, distracted by all of the drama that comes with being human, he refused to give in to any illusion and continued seeking absolute enlightenment. At age 35, under a Bodhi tree, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became the "Buddha," a Sanskrit word meaning "One who is awake."

The Buddha had realized that the trouble with being human came from clinging and attachment. Everything that comes into existence goes out of existence -- all our friends, lovers, family, video game consoles, health, our lives, and even ''TV Tropes''. The trouble wasn't that these things happen to us, but that we approach life with a flawed set of expectations. One who can accept what happens to them without complaint and without craving will never, ever be disappointed. People who find happiness within themselves can be happy no matter what the external circumstances of their lives are, and can eventually achieve the perfection of equanimity, beyond even happiness.

'''The Four Noble Truths'''

After Siddhartha achieved enlightenment, it is said that he taught the Four Noble Truths in his first sermon. They are, summarized:* That life is suffering.* That suffering has an origin and this is attachment or desire.* That there is a way to end suffering.* That this way is through the Noble Eightfold Path.

These concepts form much of the basis of Buddhism.

'''The Noble Eightfold Path'''

Often split into three parts, The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the other foundations of Buddhism:* Wisdom: The ability to see through lies and see how the world really is.** Right View: To clear ones path of misunderstanding.** Right Intention: To rid yourself of what you know is wrong.* Ethical conduct: Keeping your life free of evils that will try to lead you off the path.** Right speech: To say only things that are true and beneficial to the situation.** Right action: To avoid killing, stealing, and illicit sex.** Right livelihood: To live your life without disadvantaging other beings.* Concentration: The ability to keep your focus and your mind calm.** Right effort: To continually eliminate the bad in one’s self, to prevent the evil from taking root, and to protect and foster the good in one’s self.** Right mindfulness: To keep your mind on the path, to observe the world as it is without rushing to judgment.** Right concentration: To focus on what really matters, to not get hung up on trivialities.

'''The Four Dharma Seals'''

Buddhists believe that all phenomena in the physical world are characterised by the Four Seals or Axioms. They are, summarised again:* All things are impermanent (both in a state of change and not eternal.)* That physical existence is suffering and dissatisfaction.* That all things have no true self (i.e. a soul.)* Nirvana is peace and liberation.

'''Reincarnation and Karma'''

Two more important concepts key to Buddhism are those of reincarnation and karma. In Buddhist theology, there is no fixed soul, so there is nothing that could actually be reborn. Instead what we perceive as a person's soul or a person's self is rather a continuous stream of thoughts which continues even after a body has died and will continue in another newly born body. For a great number of lay Buddhists this is mostly a technicality though, and not given much thought, if any. The body which the person is reborn in is determined mostly by karma (although skilled practitioners can control to a certain extent which realm they are reborn in, as can higher beings.)

Karma is an action or energy created through action that drives a person's life, death, and rebirth. The concept of karma is like that of cause and effect -- Buddhists believe that whatever actions are taken by the individual will have an impact on the individuals future. Buddhism makes special emphasis on the mental intent behind an action -- it is possible to accrue positive or negative karma through emotions and thoughts. Karma can be both short term, which arises as the near immediate consequences of one's actions in the physical world (for example, anger at another person can lead to hate from that person;) and long term, which will decide a person's future circumstances and rebirth.

A person is responsible for his or her own karma, and it is their actions which will ultimately decide their future.

'''Nirvana'''

The exact experience of nirvana is said to be beyond human description or comprehension, but most schools of Buddhism agree on the basics.

Nirvana literally means "blowing out," as in a candle. It is freedom from the cycle of rebirth and painful existence that affects all beings. In nirvana, one experiences neither heaven, nor hell, nor any form of existence. It is an existence ''beyond'' existence. In this way all one's cares and anxieties are swept away. One experiences a perfect stillness of mind and eternal peace. This is not a peace in the sense that we know it, as a reprieve from suffering or as a fulfillment of one's desires, but as a freedom ''from'' any desire or emotion whatsoever. A commonly used metaphor is of a drop of water falling into a still pool. While the drop was once perceived as separate, and in some sense can still be found in the pool, it is now entirely subsumed into the wholeness of the pool itself. (The extent to which one keeps one's personality varies by school.) In Hinduism this is called ''moksha'', and is described as reunion with Brahman -- the divine foundation of all things -- when one understands that one's true self and Brahman are the same.

Though moksha and nirvana are often used interchangeably, they are not exactly the same. While Hinduism tends to stress the oneness of the Self with all things, Buddhism tends to stress the ''non-existence'' of Self. How these conceptions of enlightenment are functionally different can, to the layperson, be highly technical, and in fact was one of the reasons Buddhism died out in its native UsefulNotes/{{India}}.

The extent to which reincarnation, karma and nirvana are taken literally or viewed as extended metaphor varies wildly. In Asia these are more likely to be accepted parts of Buddhist theology; in the West they're generally dismissed as illustrative.

'''Three Vehicles of Buddhism'''Buddhism is an [[OlderThanFeudalism ancient religion]], and over time has split into many denominations. These are grouped into three main "vehicles." Theology can vary wildly between them, and sometimes even within them. These descriptions are for general purpose only:

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada Theravada]]: Found mostly in South East Asia, India and UsefulNotes/SriLanka, Theravada is the oldest existing vehicle and therefore most similar to the earliest forms of Buddhism. It emphasizes self-liberation through enlightenment by following the Eightfold Path. This school is also the most conservative in terms of theology: The non-existence of Self is emphasized, and the worship of gods and higher powers is discouraged. In fact, Theravada claims the Buddha specifically rejected the existence of any "divine foundation," whether this be called "Brahman," "The Ultimate Reality," or something else. In this school, the Buddha is considered a mere human who reached Enlightenment through his own efforts. Karma is a natural and impersonal process, beyond the ability of humans to influence.* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana Mahayana]]: The "Greater Vehicle." Mahayana Buddhism is the largest in terms of numbers. It teaches the "Bodhisattva-path," where a being seeks nirvana not for their own benefit, but chooses to return to existence to help others until all are freed from the cycle of rebirth. This school tends to be more liberal in terms of theology: Various higher beings are revered or worshipped, and it is not quite so harsh in terms of non-existence of Self. In Mahayana, the Buddha is not considered a "mere human," but an incarnation of the Ultimate Reality who came to help humans on their path to Enlightenment. Further unlike Theravada, negative karma can be purged by meditation, or by the recitation of mantras or sacred names.* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana Vajrayana]]: The "Diamond vehicle." The smallest denomination (practiced almost exclusively in UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}}), and arguably the most demanding of the paths. Vajrayana is sometimes said to be a sub-set of Mahayana. Put simply, Vajrayana is Mahayana's NintendoHard cousin. Really hammers home the impermanence of the material world, and the importance of spiritual devotion (outsiders have noted that there are no "casual" Vajrayana believers.) Like Mahayana, in Vajrayana the Buddha is revered as a divine being, and the recitation of mantras and sacred names is widely practiced. For reference, this is the path the Dalai Lama follows.

There is also:

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navayana Navayana]]: The "New Vehicle." Used to refer to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit_Buddhist_movement Dalit Buddhist movement]], or various forms of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_the_West Western]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_modernism Modernist Buddhism]]. Dalit Buddhism was founded about 100 years ago by Untouchables in India. In addition to Buddhist teachings, Dalit Buddhism defines itself by its opposition to Hinduism, which it sees as responsible for the propagation of the caste system and the Dalit position at the bottom of the social totem pole. While Dalit Buddhists take their teachings from all three schools, they tend to emphasize what they see as the Buddha's role as a political and social reformer, rather than on him as a spiritual teacher. In this sense it has much in common with Christian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology Liberation theology]]. Modern "reinterpretations" of Buddhism meanwhile, mostly found in the West, tend to be benign forms of "spirituality" and "self-improvement," often jettisoning much of the cosmological and theological "baggage" of Buddhism found in Asia, and refocusing attention from nirvana onto how one can improve one's life here on Earth.

'''Decline of Buddhism in India'''

Buddhism is almost entirely dead in the land of its birth, comprising less than 1% of the population of India. Various theories have been proposed for why Buddhism declined over the centuries and gradually disappeared, ranging from persecutions by hostile rulers to degeneration of the monasteries. Even as early as the 5th century, visiting Chinese monks commented on the sorry state of Buddhism in India. Ultimately what did Buddhism in was religious syncretism. Over the centuries Hinduism and Buddhism grew closer and closer in religious practice, such that by the Middle Ages it was hard for a layperson to tell them apart. Hindu mystics took the good parts of Buddhism and incorporated them into their belief system. Eventually Buddhism had nothing of its own left to teach. When Indian sages proclaimed that Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu, that was the end for Buddhism. With many Buddhists already worshiping Hindu gods, there wasn't any point in remaining a Buddhist anymore. In the end it wasn't so much "destroyed" as simply absorbed into Hinduism.----

'''Tropes'''All religions rely on storytelling, and all storytelling relies on tropes!

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Some schools take dharma as not strictly good or evil. But since your act will add to karma, being nice will be beneficial. For example, being lazy isn't evil but it will make you less likely to be a successful person.* AllJustADream: See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_in_Buddhism Reality in Buddhism]].* AntiHero: Dharmapalas because protecting Buddhism sometimes involves IDidWhatIHadToDo and PayEvilUntoEvil.* AntiVillain:[[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type I]] Mara has been shown to have lots of noble qualities at times. This makes him a NobleDemon plus the fact that he has never been shown doing anything worse than stopping people from becoming Buddhas.* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The Five Precepts prohibit murder, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants/intoxication. Note: The first four are part of the ten unwholesome deeds i.e. murder, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle speech, covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong views. All ten unwholesome deeds are always unskillful, which leaves out subtle intoxicants/intoxication like jaywalking.* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Enlightenment could somehow be seen as a form of ascension, but many schools would object to that.** There is however an actual ascension to a higher plane for very pure people, who are likely to be reincarnated as gods. For many asian Buddhists, this is a great reward in itself, but many others see it as undesirable, as even gods are not immortal and subject to suffering. With their divine powers and extremely long lives, it's easy for gods to forget that all existing is hardship and all things must come to an end, so being reborn as a human is actually more desirable.*** Probably even more importantly, beings can also [[InvertedTrope descend to a lower plane of existance]] and be reincarnated as an animal, a demon, a ghost, or in {{Hell}}. Which is the reason that becoming a god is only a temporary freedom from suffering that will come to an end.** In ''Pure Land Buddhism'', a school of Mahayana Buddhism, it is believed that persons who concentrate all their thoughts on the Bodhisattva Amida on the moment of their death, will be taken by Amida and be reincarnated in his Pure Land. The Pure Land is an almost perfect paradise where people will be taught the words of the buddha all day, and which offers excellent conditions to meditate, making it kind of an express highway to nirvana.* BloodKnight: Dharmapalas "being bound by oath to protect Buddhism who will use any excuse for violence (well, any excuse related to protecting Buddhism.)"* CrossoverCosmology: Mahayana Buddhism enthusiastically assimilates pretty much every religion it comes across, simply adding the local deities to the vast pantheon of Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Heavens. This is for the infinitely amusing reason that, even if Vishnu exists, he ''still'' needs enlightenment.* [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff East Asians Love Siddhartha Gautama]]: Buddhism was founded in India, got very popular in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, UsefulNotes/{{China}}, and other parts of Asia, yet in India there are very few Buddhists left. It has also seen a growing popularity in the West, particularly in America and UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}.* EnsembleDarkhorse: Zen and Tibetan Buddhism are the best known in the West, although they're not the most influential or popular forms in the rest of the world.* EvilIsDeathlyCold: The Cold [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Buddhism%29 Narakas]]. This also can describe the people who have the karma that causes them to wind up there.* EvilIsSexy / EvilMakesYouUgly: Female Asuras and male Asuras respectively.* FireAndBrimstoneHell: The Hot [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Buddhism%29 Narakas]], especially [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Av%C4%ABci Avici]].* ForeignRemake / HijackedByJesus: Believe or not, the story of Siddhartha Gautama. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlaam_and_Josaphat Seriously.]] One of the reasons Buddhism declined in India is because Hinduism co-opted it into its own religion, making the Buddha an avatar of Vishnu.* GodIsEvil: A complex trope. Mara (the Buddhist devil) is a Deva of the highest heaven of the desire realm and rules of the desire realm. To be specific in Kamadhatu (Desire realm), there is Parinirmita-vasavartin or Paranimmita-vasavatti (The Heaven of Devas with Power over other's Creations). Put another way, Mara is less a god of evil and more a god of anti-enlightenment.* GreenEyedMonster: Asuras are driven by envy among other drives.* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: The Buddha miraculously calmed Naalgiri (an enraged elephant) simply by emanating maitri (loving kindness) and karuna (compassion)! This is also how evil spirits get converted into good and then, vow to protect Buddhism, thus explaining the legion of Dharmapalas protecting Buddhism!* HeelFaceTurn: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other Buddhists have been said to have converted evil spirits from evil to good.* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not any more (or less) special than any other lifeform... But because we live a balanced life, we have the best chance to attain enlightenment and are the only race that can become Buddhas. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully understand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower, and Devas' lives are so filled with comfort that most of them do not care about the future at all.** Sometimes some text like the Lotus Sutra say non-humans can attain enlightenment like the Nagaraja's daughter (a naga, a type of deva). All stress, however, that doing so is much more difficult than for a human.* IChooseToStay: "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva Bodhisattvas,]]" those who are ready to achieve Enlightenment... but refuse to do so in order to ensure everyone ''else'' can, too. A popular concept in Buddhist art and literature.* {{Karma}}: See above. When {{flanderized}} and simplified for dramatic effect, you get CallItKarma.* KnightTemplar: Dharmapalas are this in their defense of Buddhism.* LotusEaterMachine: Buddhism essentially purports that the universe we inhabit is this.* LotusPosition: A very common meditation position for Buddhists. * MeditationPowerup: Tranquility leads to enlightened asskicking -- The legendary Shaolin Monastery is a Chan (Also known as Zen in Japan and the US) Buddhist Monastery that uses martial arts as a form of meditation. In a broader view, Zazen and other forms of meditation allow for impressive feats of concentration, which allow for other, equally impressive, feats.** Also, various supernatural powers are said to be gained by meditation!* MessianicArchetype: Boddhisattvas!* MoralEventHorizon: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icchantika Icchantikas]] are sentient beings who have crossed this. Texts vary in if they are or are not beyond redemption. Varying version of the Nirvana Sutra have differing opinions as well.** The icchantika is, according to some Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, the most base and spiritually deluded of all types of being. The term implies being given over to total hedonism and greed. In the Tathagatagarbha sutras, some of which pay particular attention to the icchantikas, the term is frequently used of those persons who do not believe in the Buddha, his eternal Selfhood and his Dharma (Truth) or in karma; who seriously transgress against the Buddhist moral codes and vinaya; and who speak disparagingly and dismissively of the reality of the immortal Buddha-nature (Buddha-dhatu) or (essentially the same thing) the Tathagatagarbha present within all beings (including icchantikas themselves, though it is more hidden from their consciousness than in other individuals due to the massive accretions of sinfulness and delusion which conceal it from their sight). The two shortest versions of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra - one translated by Fa-xian, and the other a middle-length Tibetan version of the sutra - indicate that the icchantika has so totally severed all his/her roots of goodness that he/she can never attain Liberation and Nirvana. The full-length Dharmakshema version of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, in contrast, insists that even the icchantika can eventually find release into Nirvana, since no phenomenon is fixed (including this type of allegedly deluded person) and that change for the better and best is always a possibility. Other scriptures (such as the Lankavatara Sutra) indicate that the icchantikas will be saved through the liberational power of the Buddha - who, it is claimed, will never abandon any being.** In later, [[WordOfDante more localized adaptations]] of Buddhism, there are many hells, or ''Narakas'', where those who racked up particularly bad karma were reborn, where they live, suffer, die, and are reborn again for many kalpas (eons) on end until they have worked off all their bad karma. But the lowest hell, Avici, is reserved for those who commit one or more of the Five Grave Offenses, the personal {{Moral Event Horizon}}s of the religion: intentionally murdering one's father, intentionally murdering one's mother, killing an ''arhat'' (enlightened being), shedding the blood of a Buddha, and causing a schism in the ''sangha'' (the community of Buddhist monks and nuns). Existence in the Avici hell lasts the longest out of all of the other hells put together, such that it is often known as "the non-stop way."** Avici hell means "without waves". One can translate it to ''The Ceaseless''. With a cosmology where a trillion of trillion years is a mere metric for time, this should clarify that the cosmic judgment of karma only reserves Avici for {{Complete Monster}}s only.** Also, considering the cyclic nature of Buddhist cosmology, even sins fit for Avici is not truly irredeemable. Still, that is only ''theoretical''. Nobody who has fallen into Avici, since the beginning of reality an infinity years ago, has been redeemed yet.** However, there is dispute about when this idea originated. Traditionally, it comes from the story of Devadatta, a monk who killed his father, twice assaulted the Buddha, and split the sangha. But there are at least two versions of the story of Devadatta - one of which has him being consigned to a very long stay in Avici and one of which has him repenting and achieving some level of enlightenment. Some historians date the story of Devadatta to a hundred years or more after the Buddha died, which would make it a later addition.* NoSwastikas: Inverted, both figuratively and literally; Not only is the swastika embraced by Buddhists (being a religious symbol), but it is also depicted as turning in the both directions. The Buddhist swastikas are descending spiral (the pointy bits point in a counter-clockwise progression) or an ascending spiral (pointy bits go clockwise), whereas the Nazi swastika is invariably a right-facing 45° rotated spiral.** [[NoExportForYou Unfortunately, it has led to some problems with Asian exports.]]* NobleDemon: Theravada's text note that there are plenty of Asuras in heaven. These Asuras are incarnation of people who did good deed with wrong motive. For example, helping the poor to impress public.* OlderThanFeudalism: Buddha lived approximately 563 BCE to 483 BCE (traditional dating in the range of 566-560 BCE to 486-480BCE with newer dating in the range of 491-480 BCE to 411-400 BCE). * {{Reincarnation}}: See above.* ReligionIsMagic: Many Buddhist traditions include monks being developing spiritual powers (flight, control of weather, etc) and having the ability to invoke and banish or bind spirits. As in the yogic traditions above, these powers are seen as a potential distraction from achieving enlightenment and so are to be used sparingly. Additionally, relics of the Buddha and other enlightened individuals are supposed to have particular power.** An interesting note is how matter of fact the treatment of the supernatural can be in some Buddhist traditions. For example, in many Tibetan monasteries part of the oath you take when you become a monk is that you are not a spirit disguised as a human being. Other monasteries are placed specifically to be bindings for demons, oracles and divination are fairly common practice for lamas, and there are many lamas who have repeatedly reincarnated and continued their teaching. Part of the reason Chinas destruction of monasteries and abuse of monks during the cultural revolution was so devastating was the way knowledge of the spiritual landscape and the whereabouts of reincarnated lamas was lost. ** The Chinese take this seriously enough (with enough Chinese being Buddhists themselves) that [[SeriousBusiness Tibetan Buddhist monks are specifically required to obtain official Communist Party approval before they can re-incarnate.]] * RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms: Guan Yu is the bodhisattva Sangharama in Chinese Buddhism.* SecondPlaceIsForWinners: Well, third place. Being reborn as a Deva is the highest state, but it's impossible to achieve Nirvana -- it's just too much ''fun''. Being born human is the middle state, and the one most conducive to escaping the cycle.* SelfImmolation:The Bodhisattva Bhaisajyaguru(vaiduryaprabharaja) gives us one of the oldest examples as in the Lotus Sutra.** Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism, and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in India, for various reasons, including Sati, political protest, devotion, and renouncement. Certain warrior cultures, such as in the Charans and Rajputs, also practiced self-immolation. An article entitled History of Religions, written by Jan Yun-Hua, investigates the medieval Chinese Buddhist precedents for self-immolation. Relying exclusively on authoritative Chinese Buddhist texts and, through the use of these texts, interpreting such acts exclusively in terms of doctrines and beliefs (e.g., self-immolation, much like an extreme renunciant might abstain from food until dying, could be an example of disdain for the body in favor of the life of the mind and wisdom) rather than in terms of their socio-political and historical context, the article allows its readers to interpret these deaths as acts that refer only to a distinct set of beliefs that happen to be foreign to the non-Buddhist.* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_unanswerable_questions 14 Unanswerable Questions]] Basically four questions, or not, or both or neither. This obviously leaves 16 rather than 14 due to varying counts or wheter or not including the boths and neithers or only for some questions.** Is the world eternal? or not? or both? or neither?** Is the world finite? or not? or both? or neither?** Is the self the body? or not? (or both? or neither?)** Does the Tathagata (Buddha) exist after death? or not? (or both? or neither?)*** Though Mahayana and Vajrayana consider the answer to be: Yes, the Tathagata exists after death. Buddha says in the Brahma Net Sutra: Now, I, Vairocana Buddha am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; On a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body. Such a statement may imply that a Buddha is immortal. Even though he descends in the samsara to preach Dharma and save sentient beings from suffering, his original body remains in a transcendent realm. That body will not die upon the death of the physical body of Buddha, and hence a Buddha is beyond arising and passing away. The idea that the physical death of a Buddha is the termination of that Buddha is graphically refuted by the movement and meaning of the Lotus sutra, in which another Buddha, who passed long before, appears and communicates with Shakyamuni himself. In the vision of the Lotus Sutra, Buddhas are ultimately immortal. A similar doctrine of the eternality of Buddhas is repeatedly expounded in the tathāgatagarbha sutras, which share certain family resemblances with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra* TheUnfettered: Literaly, as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetter_%28Buddhism%29 ten fetters]] are what keep people from Nirvana!** 1. belief in a self (Pali: sakkāya-diṭṭhi) 2. doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings (vicikicchā) 3. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāso) 4. sensual desire (kāmacchando) 5. ill will (vyāpādo or byāpādo) 6. lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (rūparāgo) 7. lust for immaterial existence, lust for rebirth in a formless realm (arūparāgo) 8. conceit (māno) 9. restlessness (uddhaccaŋ) 10. ignorance (avijjā)* WarriorMonk: Shaolin Monks and Sohei are early examples of this.----